Shabbat Around The World – Finding Jewish Community Wherever I Roam

One of the things I love most about traveling is how it constantly reminds me that the world is both vast and somehow incredibly small. I’ve stood beneath the endless stars of the Sahara Desert, sailed past glaciers in Antarctica, and cruised through the icy waters of Greenland — and in each of those places, I have found a way to welcome Shabbat.

Lighting candles in the middle of nowhere feels almost poetic. There I am, a Jewish girl from Michigan, whispering ancient blessings as sand dunes stretch to the horizon or penguins waddle across the deck. The challah might be improvised (cruise-ship bread counts, right?) and the wine might come out of a plastic cup, but the feeling? The feeling is always the same. Calm. Connection. Home.

Wherever I travel, I look for synagogues and Jewish communities — sometimes grand, historic synagogues that have stood for centuries, and sometimes small, modern congregations tucked into unexpected neighborhoods.

I’ve celebrated Shabbat in Split, Croatia, where the synagogue sits quietly within the old stone walls of Diocletian’s Palace — a reminder that Jewish life has always woven itself into the world’s great stories. I’ve attended services in Madrid, Spain and Havana, Cuba where Hebrew mingles with Spanish, creating a melody that feels both familiar and new. I’ve visited synagogues and Jewish communities in Australia and South Africa, in Kenya, Tanzania and Morocco — places where Jewish life is small but vibrant, resilient, and deeply rooted.

And every time, when the candles are lit and voices rise together in song, I feel it: that universal thread that ties us all together.

Shabbat has been part of my life since childhood — a rhythm I’ve carried with me across time zones and hemispheres. No matter where I am, the rituals bring me back to myself. The world slows down. I pause. I breathe. I remember that even on the busiest journey, there is space for gratitude, reflection, and peace.

Travel reminds me that Judaism is not just a religion practiced in one place. It’s a global tapestry — from tiny congregations in remote corners of Africa to communities gathered aboard cruise ships in Antarctica. And somehow, whether I’m wrapped in a warm coat on a windswept deck or sitting inside a 500-year-old sanctuary, I feel like I’m exactly where I belong.

Shabbat isn’t just tradition — it’s comfort. It’s continuity. It’s home, wherever in the world I may be.

And that, to me, is the real magic

From JuJu With Love 💙✈️🕎